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14 Nabbed in Suffolk Heroin Ring, DA Says

A Holtsville couple accused of trafficking heroin from an alleged Brooklyn supplier to nearly a dozen dealers spanning Suffolk County were all rounded up this week after recently being indicted, authorities said.

Kelly Mullen, 29, and her 57-year-old husband, Aaron Smith, the accused ringleaders, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony charges of operating as a major trafficker along with Miguel Vicente, the alleged supplier.

“As many as five dealers a day came to this house, where five to 10 children live at any given time, to pick up their heroin,’ Suffolk District Attorney Tom Spota said. “When we arrived with a search warrant, there were bags of heroin scattered about, including heroin left next to the crib of Mullen and Smith’s daughter.”

The bust was described as the biggest of its kind on eastern Long Island since more than 100 were rounded up in 2009, although several smaller rings have also been dismantled more recently, including one on the East End this winter.

Prosecutors alleged that Vicente prepared kilos of the drug—which was later broken down into in tens of thousands of bags branded with the stamp “High Octane”—for street sales in Holbrook, Oakdale, Islip, Central Islip, Ronkonkoma, Shirley and Riverhead.

Authorities also seized five ounces of powder and crack cocaine, $37,000 in cash, a $40,000 wristwatch and other jewelry when they executed search warrants on the suspects’ homes and cars.

Spota added that Vicente, Mullen and Smith don’t use heroin themselves, but were motivated by greed.

Bail for Vicente was set at $2.5 million cash or $7 million bond. Bail for Mullen and Smith was set at $1 million cash or $3 million bond, each. They face up to 25 years to life in prison on the trafficking charge.

The trio and their alleged low-level dealers were all charged with conspiracy as well, and most were also charged with heroin possession. The couple was additionally charged with child endangerment.

Timothy Bolger is the Managing Editor for the Long Island Press who’s been working to uncover unreported stories since shortly after it launched in 2003. When he’s not editing, getting hassled by The Man or fielding cold calls to the newsroom, he covers crime, general interest and political news in addition to reporting longer, sometimes investigative features. He won’t be happy until everyone is as pissed off as he is about how screwed up Lawn Guyland is.